Lorraine Infant School & Nursery

Inspection of a school judged good for overall effectiveness before September 2024: Lorraine Infant School Highland Road, Camberley, Surrey GU15 4EX

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Outcome

Lorraine Infant School has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.

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Outcome

The headteacher of this school is Karen Ney. This school is part of GLF Schools multi- academy trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer (CEO), Julian Drinkall, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Lynne O’Reilly.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils ooze enthusiasm for their school. The wide range of activities on offer beyond lessons is hugely popular. These give pupils opportunities to try new things or practise their skills. They also value the carefully considered visits and visitors that bring their learning to life.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school’s determination to ‘nurture confident, thoughtful and highly motivated learners’ underpins everything pupils experience. An unrelenting focus on developing pupils’ speaking and listening skills boosts their self-esteem. They gain the words they need to talk about their learning, communicate with others and express how they are feeling. Pupils are taught right from wrong, the consequences of their actions and how to work and play alongside others. Breaktimes are harmonious. Classrooms are calm and purposeful. Typically, pupils are attentive and work hard. The well-designed curriculum hooks them in and builds their knowledge and skills over time.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils’ personal development takes centre stage. Their understanding of themselves and their place in the world grows from Nursery upwards. Pupils are caring towards their classmates and accept difference as the norm. As one put simply, ‘Everyone gets on.’ Older pupils relish opportunities to contribute to school life through roles such as school councillors or eco-warriors. They understand the importance of being a good citizen. 23 April 2025

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

School and trust leaders are rightly proud of the school’s strengths and are clear about what could be even better. Actions to bring about further improvement have pupils’ interests at heart. The focus, for example, over the last year or so on fine-tuning the teaching of early reading has paid off. Firm foundations are laid in Nursery where children learn to tune in to stories, songs and rhymes. Phonics teaching from Reception upwards is typically proficient and precise. Extra support for pupils who need it is well targeted. Most pupils acquire the basic reading skills they need by the end of Year 1. They are keen to share that they love reading. Work to further refine the teaching of comprehension is well underway.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The updated mathematics curriculum introduced last school year is also having an impact. Daily number practice from Reception upwards develops pupils’ confidence and recall of important facts. Pupils enjoy mathematics and, particularly in the younger years, achieve well. Work to revamp the teaching of writing is not as advanced. Pupils’ writing skills have not been developed as systematically. The focus on cultivating their spoken language and exposure to a range of books has not had the intended knock-on effect on their writing.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The school skilfully adapts trust or published schemes for other subjects, ensuring that learning starts in the early years. Overarching questions in the wider curriculum spark pupils’ curiosity and deepen their thinking. Links between subjects make learning meaningful and help pupils to remember key content. The explicit focus on vocabulary and breaking down the content into manageable steps particularly benefits those pupils who might otherwise find learning difficult. Guidance ensures that teachers are clear about what pupils should know and be able to do at key points. They are adept at explaining new ideas to pupils, checking who has grasped them before they move on and adapting learning as needed. ‘Showcase’ events where pupils share their learning at the end of each half term with family members are well attended.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The commitment to treating people fairly and ensuring that all pupils have opportunities regardless of their background shines through all aspects of the school’s work. The values of ‘respect, try your best, succeed’ develop pupils’ positive attitudes and resilience. ‘Entitlement’ activities, such as visits to Kew Gardens, broaden pupils’ experiences beyond where they live. Books are carefully chosen to ensure pupils recognise themselves and their different backgrounds. Staff are well supported in identifying any pupils who might have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and to try strategies to help them before external advice is sought.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Some pupils do not fully benefit from all the school has to offer. Attendance is below average. Pupils who are frequently absent tend to be those with SEND or who speak English as an additional language. The same is true for pupils eligible for pupil premium funding. For some, this means they are missing any extra support that has been put in place, as well as class learning. The school works tirelessly to identify underlying reasons for pupils’ absence. It supports and challenges families to establish better attendance, for example by signposting them to a range of services that can help. There are signs of success with some pupils, although these are not always sustained, and it is too early to see a marked improvement. 23 April 2025

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Work to develop a more systematic approach to teaching writing is fairly new. Pupils do not achieve as well in writing as they do in reading and mathematics. The school should keep its plans under close review, checking on impact and adjusting as needed.  Too many pupils are absent from school without good reason. This has a negative impact on their learning. The school should embed its revised policy and procedures to work with families to improve the attendance of pupils who do not attend regularly.

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Background

Until September 2024, on a graded (section 5) inspection we gave schools an overall effectiveness grade, in addition to the key and provision judgements. Overall effectiveness grades given before September 2024 will continue to be visible on school inspection reports and on Ofsted’s website. From September 2024, graded inspections will not include an overall effectiveness grade. This school was, before September 2024, judged to be good for its overall effectiveness.

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Background

We have now inspected the school to determine whether it has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at that previous inspection. This is called an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school’s work has improved significantly or that it may not be as strong as it was at the last inspection, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection. A graded inspection is carried out under section 5 of the Act. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the predecessor school, Lorraine Infant School, to be good for overall effectiveness in May 2015.

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How can I feed back my views?

find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection. 23 April 2025

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The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ is used to mean pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND); pupils who meet the definition of children in need of help and protection ; pupils receiving statutory local authority support from a social worker; and pupils who otherwise meet the criteria used for deciding the school’s pupil premium funding (this includes pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years, looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 23 April 2025

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School details

Date of previous inspection 25 September 2019, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Lorraine Infant School is federated with Pine Ridge Infant School. The leadership team works across both schools, as do some other members of staff.  A school standards board (SSB) oversees aspects of governance for both schools and Cordwalles Junior School on behalf of the trust. The chair of the SSB, an experienced governor, had just taken on the role at the time of the inspection.  There have been several changes to the school’s leadership since the last inspection. The current headteacher joined the school in 2021, first as co-head of school and then co-headteacher. She has been the sole headteacher since September 2024. The deputy headteacher and the special educational needs and disabilities coordinator are also new appointments. Almost all class teachers are new to the school since the last inspection.  The Nursery admits children from the age of two. A recent successful bid for funding

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Information about this school

has enabled the school to resource separate teaching spaces for the two- to three-year olds and the three- to four-year-olds.  The proportion of pupils with SEND who have an education, health and care plan is higher than seen nationally, having increased in recent years. The proportion of pupils 23 April 2025

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who speak English as an additional language is also above average. Many are at early stage of learning English when they join the school.  The school does not currently use any alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision.  This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Meetings were held with the headteacher and other school leaders, as well as the CEO and regional director from GLF, the chair of trustees and members of the SSB.  The inspectors visited a sample of lessons, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspection team reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.

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Information about this inspection

 Staff and parent views were gathered using Ofsted’s surveys. There were no responses to the pupil survey, but inspectors met with pupils as well as staff during the inspection. They also talked to pupils around school and outside at breaktime and with staff as they went about their work.

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Inspection team

Alison Bradley, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Judith O’Hare Ofsted Inspector 23 April 2025

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achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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